A Lenient Peak
by Vapor123
Summary: Swiftstar is a new leader, an inexperienced young tom, feeling as if he were just a random pick for the deputy spot when the old deputy died after a quarrel with a dog. With the past leader making choices and rushing into things, he informs the Clan that he was going to die of old age soon. When this happens, Swiftstar is forced to change himself for RoseClan.
1. Alliegainces and Prologue

_**RoseClan**_

**Leader:** Swiftstar: Ginger-and-white tom with large, sharp ears and yellow eyes

**Deputy:** Wingleap: Light grey tabby tom with brilliant amber eyes and darker underfur

**Medicine Cat:** Dawnpool: Small cream she-cat with bright blue eyes

**Warriors**

Tawnyfur: Golden-yellow tom with green eyes and white underfur

Mistystream: Silver-and-white tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes

Spiderjump: Dark grey tom with orange eyes

Antshade: Small, black tom with amber eyes

Starlingflight: Skinny, fluffy grey tabby tom with green eyes

Berryfur: Dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Mouseheart: Tiny, scrawny grey-and-white she-cat with green eyes

**Apprentices**

Fleetpaw: Small, thin light brown-and-white tabby she-cat with green eyes. Mentored by Tawnyfur

Dustpaw: Brown tom with amber eyes. Mentored by Spiderjump

**Queens**

Petalstripe: Slender ginger tabby she-cat with bright orange eyes. Mother of Tawnyfur's kits, Mosskit, Furzekit and Brightkit. (Mosskit: Golden-yellow tom with green eyes. Furzekit: Ginger-and-white she-cat with orange eyes. Brightkit: Ginger tom with green eyes

Snowsplash: Black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes. Mother of Wingleap's kits, Duskkit and Sleekkit. (Duskkit: Dark grey tom with yellow eyes. Sleekkit: Black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes)

**Elders**

Larkflight: Golden tabby tom with orange eyes

Softpelt: Fluffy, cream she-cat with green eyes

**Mates/Offspring**

Snowsplash - Wingleap (Parents of Duskkit and Sleekkit)

Petalstripe - Tawnyfur (Parents of Mosskit, Furzekit and Brightkit)

Mouseheart - Starlingflight (Siblings)

Softpelt (Mother of Dawnpool)

Larkflight (Father of Swiftstar and Petalstripe)

* * *

_**MudClan**_

**Leader: **Sandstar: Tall tan tabby tom with pale green eyes

**Deputy: **Mothfur: Light brown-and-white she-cat with green eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Milkpelt: White she-cat with yellow eyes

**Medicine Cat Apprentice: **Fernstem: Black-and-white tom with orange eyes

**Warriors**

Thornstep: Bulky, dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Applenose: Ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Hazelpelt: Tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Cindertip: Light grey tom with blue eyes and darker ears

Heavyrun: White tom with orange eyes

Tallwind: Lanky, silver tabby tom with lime green eyes

Spottedfur: Tan tom with darker spots and amber eyes

Featherfall: Light grey she-cat with orange eyes

Halfscar: Black tom with amber eyes

**Apprentices**

Ivypaw: Calico she-cat with green eyes. Mentored by Cindertip

**Queens**

Dustyfoot: Light brown-and-white tabby she-cat with bright blue eyes. Mother of Sandstar's kits, Wolfkit and Smallkit (Wolfkit: Brown-and-white tom with blue eyes. Smallkit: Light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes)

**Elders**

Fluffyscreaming: Bright ginger tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

**Mates/Offspring**

Dustyfoot - Sandstar (Parents of Wolfkit, Smallkit and Spottedfur)

Hazelpelt - Cindertip (Parents of Featherfall)

Featherfall - Heavyrun

* * *

_**TalonClan**_

**Leader: **Birdstar: Black she-cat with green eyes

**Deputy: **Smallfire: Little ginger tabby tom with blue eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Earthstep: Brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Warriors**

Runningstreak: Black tom with yellow eyes

Seedheart: Brown she-cat with green eyes

Nightspring: Black tom with amber eyes

Redpool: Dark ginger tom with orange eyes

Hawkclaw: Dark grey she-cat with sharp blue eyes

Darkfall: Black-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentices**

Otterpaw: Brown-and-white tabby she-cat with amber eyes. Mentored by Nightspring

Leopardpaw: Golden, spotted tom with green eyes. Mentored by Darkfall

Sagepaw: Brown tom with amber eyes. Mentored by Smallfire

**Queens**

Scarletheart: Ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes. Mother of Runningstreak's kits, Scorchkit, Blackkit and Leafkit. (Scorchkit: Ginger-and-black she-cat with yellow eyes. Blackkit: Black tom with yellow eyes. Leafkit: Ginger she-cat with blue eyes)

**Mates/Offspring**

Scarletheart - Runningstreak (Parents of Scorchkit, Blackkit and Leafkit)

Birdstar (Mother of Runningstreak and Nightspring)

Hawkclaw - Seedheart

* * *

**Cats Outside The Clans**

Scatter: Light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Glace: Pale grey tom with blue eyes

Beep: Dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Asher: Dark grey, dappled tom with amber eyes

* * *

_**Prologue**_

A transparent mist slowly moved across the ground. Towering trees, spotted with shiny stars, loomed over the ginger-and-white tom, Swiftstrike. His head was held high, large, sharp ears held forward as he waited patiently. He was dreaming, ready to obtain his last life and climb the ladder to become the leader of RoseClan. His yellow eyes focused on the cat-like figures in front of him, his ancestors and fallen comrades.

"Pouncestar?" He breathed, taking a close look, having noticed the familiar light brown tabby. He was lanky, short yet thick-furred with many battle scars and dark green eyes. The older male lumbered over to Swiftstrike, face jaded, yet it held pride. "I'm sorry for not sticking around long enough, kit," uttered Pouncestar. "You haven't been deputy for very long, but I have confidence in you." He slowly dipped his head before raising it and looking over his shoulder, nodding at the eight other cats who had given Swiftstrike before he did.

Pouncestar then turned his attention back to Swiftstrike. "Again, very sorry about dying earlier than you had hoped- But, anyways," He paused, taking a second to regain his breath, after talking rather quickly. "I never gave a life before... Ever, but that's not the point, uh." His green eyes fixated on Swiftstrike's amber gaze as he stared steadily at him.

After a moment or two, Swiftstrike nearly reeled back when Pouncestar approached him, attempting to touch the ginger-and-white cat's head with his nose. Some other cat being in his personal bubble didn't appeal to Swiftstrike, and at this, Pouncestar emitted a small exhale. "Alright then..." He trailed off with a sigh.

"Swiftstrike," began Pouncestar. "With this life, I give you the gift of warmth, in order to give your cats a friendly ear and someone to blow off steam to," He whispered in Swiftstrike's ear. "And, from now on, you will be known as Swiftstar, the new leader of RoseClan."

Swiftstar huffed as Pouncestar took steps away, his usually aloof gaze fixed on the circle of cats surrounding him. They called out his new name while he stood there, long tail swishing in the air. He breathed deeply, calmly. Ears still erect, he felt every bit of himself grow numb. Glancing down at his front paws, he took note that his paws were beginning to fade. Although he was screaming inwardly, he luckily managed to keep a straight face. "I see." He murmured to himself as he later felt nothingness in his body, vision already blurring.

Everything went pitch-black and peaceful, as Swiftstar couldn't see the starry cats or the forest no longer. Yet, he was shaken awake by a pair of soft forepaws that belonged to his medicine cat.

Swiftstar awoke to the cream she-cat's bright blue eyes. He stared at Dawnpool, eyes still adjusting to the sunlight beaming through the canopy of trees. The petite cat above him wore a content expression on her visage. "Ready to go back to RoseClan now, sleepyhead?" His old friend inquired, a purr in her tone. With this, Swiftstar nodded to her. "Yeah, lets get going now." He grunted, scrambling to his feet, swaying once he stood up next to the little cat.

"Hopefully we will avoid the MudClan and TalonClan cats, eh?" Dawnpool bounded ahead of Swiftstar, beckoning him with a twitch of her tail-tip. The male cat sauntered after her with a slackened pace, but his speed soon quickened when his friend began racing ahead.


	2. Chapter 1

The hot air of greenleaf beat down on the forest floor below, the sun's rays warming the foliage. Every once in a while, a cooler breeze would rustle the bushes. Swiftstar stalked forward, heading for the scent of a nearby RoseClan cat. He had abandoned the border patrol, leaving it to Spiderjump, Berryfur and Fleetpaw. He sauntered through the undergrowth, ginger-and-white pelt lightened by the sunlight pouring into the oak-filled woodland.

Swiftstar lifted his head, yellow eyes shining as he approached the cat. Poking his head out of a cluster of vegetation, he could see, the cream she-cat he had been searching for. She appeared to have a little tear in her right ear, gaze lowered. A snicker sounded from him as Dawnpool raised her blue eyes up to him. "Hey." She meowed.

Swiftstar ambled out of the undergrowth, nearing the other cat. "You look like crap," He commented. "Then again, you look like that nearly everyday." At this, Dawnpool rose a 'brow'. She staggered to her feet, flicking her nicked ear. "It's only a small tear and a few scratches, I'm just fine." She huffed, lips curling into a smile. Swiftstar chuckled at her in response. "Right, now what happened to you anyway? You go out looking for flowers to pick and I find you here."

Dawnpool squinted at the tom. "Again, I'm fine. Blame Thornstep and his hunting patrol, but anyways, don't get into a stupid fight over this," She answered, strolling to his side. "Also, I would like to say, I may look like crap to you but I know that toms are talking about me, complimenting me behind my back."

Swiftstar pulled away as Dawnpool got somewhat too close, flattening his ear against his head at the medicine cat. Dawnpool's tail swished in the air as she calmly stared at him. She wore a faint smirk on her face as she once again approached him. "You still have that issue?" She inquired, seeming to have taken note of Swiftstar's discomfort with her in his bubble. To this, the ginger-and-white tom replied. "Can you not, Dawnpool?" He hissed, scooting away again.

Dawnpool pointed her pinkish nose in the air with a grunt. "Alright then, well, I'm just. Going to go or something." said the petite RoseClan cat. She gave a final glance at Swiftstar as he meowed a farewell to her, leaving him alone in the forest clearing.

Swiftstar emitted a small sigh, pricking his ears to listen to the noises around him. Assuming that Spiderjump had control of things in the patrol, he decided to go hunting for a while. The lanky feline slid into some vegetation, enough plants to keep him hidden. Opening his mouth to taste the air, he detected the smell of an avian of some sort. He then started to stalk, trail after the scent in a crouching position.

It had took him a while to actually catch something, his ginger-and-white fur made it possible for some prey to see him in the plants. Swiftstar did, however, manage to obtain a mouse after missing a robin and a sparrow. He held the rodent in his jaws, tasting the fresh blood on his tongue as he padded onward in direction of the RoseClan camp. When he reached the tunnel that led to the large clearing, he muttered to himself softly.

Swiftstar had only been leader for a moon, tonight being the gathering, he could already see the sky darkening. He gazed through the tunnel before actually making movement toward the camp. He took steps through the narrow passage, making his way to the clearing.

It was a large clearing, shaded by the looming oak trees. On the far right, a hollowed out tree was the location of RoseClan's nursery, while another on the opposite belonged to the elders. The apprentices' den wasn't too far from the warriors', which was a little forest grotto. The apprentices' den was an old tree log, which had fallen moons ago. Then there was Dawnpool's dwelling, a burrow that was nearly hidden by ferns and other foliage.

In the center, the freshkill pile stood, two cats, Mouseheart and Tawnyfur, surrounded it and were soon joined by a light grey tabby tom. Swiftstar gazed at the grey tom, who was his deputy, Wingleap. He'd have to expect the cat later. Swiftstar ambled toward the heap of prey as soon as Wingleap trotted away to the nursery to meet with his mate, Snowsplash, who had recently given birth to kits the night before. The ginger-and-white tom put his mouse down in the pile, giving a quick nod to Tawnyfur and Mouseheart and then swiftly walking away to his den, a burrow between the warriors' den and Dawnpool's.

Swiftstar slid inside, having grown more quiet when he entered the camp. He did, however, feel a small pang of guilt as he realized Mouseheart had greeted him. It may have been impolite, maybe. He just wanted to get to his den though. He then sat down in his moss bedding, decorated with feathers by Dustpaw, who had done his best to stay on the good side of higher-ranking cats.

Yellow eyes peering out of the dark burrow, he kept his distance from the rest of the Clan for now.


	3. Chapter 2

Swiftstar awoke to the sound of approaching pawsteps, shooting his head up at the sound of Wingleap's voice. "Sir?" The light grey tom's reverberated in the small burrow. Swiftstar looked up to see the amber-eyed light grey tabby. When Wingleap realized that Swiftstar had woken up, he quickly backed away. He give a nod to his leader. "Sir, the Gathering? Which cats are going to the Gathering?"

Swiftstar grumbled to himself as he stared at his friend. He wasn't tired, more wanted Wingleap to get out. "The Gathering, uh..." His voice grew quieter into mumbles as he randomly picked out cats. He assumed this was what the two other Clan leaders did, so why not. "Dawnpool's going, yeah, and you... Fleetpaw and Dustpaw can also go, and Starlingflight, Tawnyfur and Antshade." He finished, with that giving his short fur a few quick licks.

Wingleap nodded yet narrowed his eyes at the tomcat. "Sir, are you still tired?" He inquired. Swiftstar huffed at him, shaking his head in reply. "No, now get out." He ordered, flopping back down in his nest. "Sir, we are going to the Gathering now, TalonClan and MudClan are probably waiting for us already."

"I hate you too."

Wingleap sauntered over to Swiftstar, lifting a hindleg to kick him in the shoulder, to which Swiftstar answered back by shoving him away. "Get up, please. And same, I hate you too." said the tabby as he neared the den's exit. He padded outside of the dwelling, and Swiftstar lowly hissed at himself. He should have spoken earlier, but perhaps Wingleap would hurry up and tell the cats who were going to the Gathering quickly.

Swiftstar scrambled to his paws, waiting a moment to shake his head and hastily groom himself before climbing up the tunnel, out of the burrow. The moon shone luminously overhead as he ambled up the higher terrain above his den. Lifting his tail, he soon felt awkward, standing there. He then lowered his tail.

Slowly, he inched away from the hill, abandoning the only two cats - Spiderjump and his sister, Petalstripe. He signaled for the two to leave the clearing, coughing lightly while he quickly trotted away. With all of this, he did his best to maintain a straight face as he approached Wingleap, who was telling Fleetpaw and Dustpaw that they were both going to the Gathering.

"Hey, uh, mind if we kind of don't go to the Gathering? I really, really dislike Sandstar, so, uh." Swiftstar gazed at the tabby, who grunted in reply. "I already told all of the cats, we're late, lets go."

"Wow, okay." hissed Swiftstar, narrowing his eyes at the other cat before trotting over to the exit to the camp quickly, beckoning the two apprentices along with him. Fleetpaw and Dustpaw padded close behind, Wingleap sauntered calmly along. His eyes shifted to every cat he had called for.

Starlingflight, a fluffy grey tom, took notice of all of them gathering together, prodding Antshade in the side. The other tom lifted his narrow, black face to Swiftstar, brow rising. He called for another cat, Tawnyfur, who had already been ambling to Swiftstar's group.

The two cats at the side of the apprentices' den rose to their feet and walked on over. At the time, Dawnpool poked her head, looking over at Swiftstar from behind the two cats.

Swiftstar just kind of breathed as the cream tabby bounded to his side. Dawnpool flashed her blue eyes to the apprentices, excited they were, and hissed softly when Dustpaw grew louder by the minute with constant ramblings. Swiftstar inched a bit away from the tiny crowd, ears and tail erect. He was beyond the expected time to arrive to the Gathering area, a small cave to the north of the forest. The ginger-and-white tom allowed Wingleap to go on first, the grey cat actually raced forward, through the exit and toward the direction of the location the cats were meant to be in.

* * *

**Shout out to 'Willowsong of ThunderClan', thank you for complimenting this thing. It's not the best, but thank you for liking it! ovo**


	4. Chapter 3

Swiftstar strolled at the front of the group, ears perked and tail straight as he kept his space from the other cats. The ginger-and-white tom's pelt had a more silvery tint in the moonlight, the shine emitted from the moon creating small dapples on he and his warriors through the oak forest's canopy. Wingleap walked past Swiftstar, straying ahead of the group with Dawnpool and Starlingflight.

Swiftstar squinted at Starlingflight as the tom murmured to Dawnpool a comment, before looking ahead again. Over the hill, down to the valley where the gathering as held, he could see MudClan and TalonClan cats conversing over the sound of the leaders. Softly, Swiftstar cursed at himself, slinking down the heigher ground over to the cats.

On a single tree, two other cats perched on branches. The black she-cat on the higher left branch flashed her green eyes to the arriving group, speaking up from her place, only to have her words be drowned by the Clan cats' constant chatting. Swiftstar narrowed his yellow eyes at her, quickly making his way out of the mass of cats. It was better to not be in this crowd, it was actually really painful for him.

With a heavy inhale and then exhale, Swiftstar launched himself up onto the tree trunk, hooking his claws into the oak's bark and then hauling himself upward. He glanced at Sandstar, the tan tabby tom who seated himself far from the two other leaders. Swiftstar settled close to Birdstar, the black she-cat, and began to breathe more steadily. He laid down on the branch, tail hanging off the side. His yellow eyes scanned the clearing, watching Dawnpool slid over to her fellow medicine cats and Wingleap saunter to the other deputies.

Dustpaw and Fleetpaw joined with a small calico apprentice at the base of another small tree, Tawnyfur and Antshade coming along behind them. Swiftstar swallowed hard, inching closer to Birdstar. "Should we start or-" He stopped himself from speaking, interrupted by Sandstar's call for the gathering to start with a loud yowl. His ears flattened against his head at the noise and he slowly stared at the tan tabby.

Sandstar leapt to his paws, lanky figure much taller than Swiftstar's. After the voices below the tree settled down, the tom began to speak. "Starting now, Birdstar, you're first." He said in a deep, yet still loud tone. At this, Swiftstar gazed back at Birdstar. The bulky she-cat opened her mouth, her own voice scratchy and high-pitched. "Yes, right," said Birdstar. "TalonClan has named two new warriors, Nightspring and Darkfall. Our Clan is also very healthy, with a litter having been born earlier this moon." She finished, turning to Swiftstar after the cats ended the cheers for the two new warriors and then saying, "You're up."

With a cough, Swiftstar took a few seconds to begin talking, causing Sandstar to tell him to speak up. The ginger-and-white tom slowly nodded to himself mentally when he got his words together. "I just became leader. Other than that, RoseClan has nothing. We have Wingleap as a deputy, but that's about it." He announced quickly, tail wrapping around his forelegs while he internally patted his own head. He did good, that was a good Swiftstar.

Sandstar huffed at Swiftstar, before he himself began. "MudClan has many new warriors and apprentices, along with a group of kittens. We have also chased a badger out of our land, headed to TalonClan, we believe, say your Clan will be alright, Birdstar?"

"Yes, thank you for informing us, Sandstar," answered Birdstar. She looked at Swiftstar. "Will you be alright as well?" At this, Swiftstar nodded, really just wanting to go back to camp. Home was more exciting.

Birdstar smiled somewhat, dipping her head. "Alright then," The large she-cat uttered, inching away from Swiftstar. He observed her, calling for her warriors to come along and head back to the camp. He gazed down the tree branch, watching her shove her way past Antshade and Thornstep, a large MudClan tom. Sandstar followed soon after, collecting the MudClan cats in the clearing, and then beckoning them to follow him with his tail held erect.

Swiftstar rose to his feet, quickly jumping off the branch. He landed beside Dawnpool and Wingleap, catching only half of what the two were saying. "So you think that collecting flowers is- Oh, hello, Swiftstar. Good gathering?" said Dawnpool, snapping her attention away from Wingleap and completely ignoring what he was getting ready to say in reply when he saw Swiftstar.

Swiftstar didn't respond, only signaled the two cats to come with him. He glanced at Fleetpaw and Dustpaw who were now bouncing over with bright faces. He pretended to listen to their conversing toward him, blocking out everything they said and as soon as the two were finished, the rest of the RoseClan group gathered together and at a fast pace, he led them out of the gathering area and away to the Clan's camp.


	5. Chapter 4

Swiftstar approached the camp's entrance, moving quickly through the ravine and into the clearing. Overhead, the moon hung in a pale grey canvas and clouds slowly began to crowd together, preparing to make rain. Once entering the camp, he was pushed to the side by Wingleap and Antshade, who both sauntered to their den. Letting out a small hiss to himself, the ginger-and-white tabby pulled away from the entrance and made his way to the freshkill pile hungrily.

Swiftstar snatched a skinny vole from the pile and then glanced at the heap. It wasn't completely full, so he'd have to send a patrol later if Wingleap was just going to sleep for the rest of the morning. He slid over to the grotto where the warriors slept and cautiously searched around, careful not to step on any of the cats. Lightly, he coughed and then strolled over to who he thought could lead the patrol.

Choosing Mistystream, a silver-and-white tabby she-cat, he decided she would take care of the patrol and then gently prodded her side. "Mistystream, you awake?" A low groan emitted from the she-cat in reply. "What do you want?" She asked, not moving an inch from her nest.

"Can you lead a hunting patrol now? Take Mouseheart, Fleetpaw and Spiderjump."

With that, he ditched her.

Outside of the warriors' den, Swiftstar huffed softly to himself, happy to finally get away when a hiss kept him from taking his vole and going to his burrow to eat and sleep. He slowly craned his neck to the sound. _Who the hell hissed at me? _He asked himself, then found himself glaring at Mistystream. The she-cat looked tired, fur untidy. Behind her, he could see Spiderjump and Mouseheart's grey-and-white head.

"Move." said Mistystream, and Swiftstar quickly complied with the she-cat, backing away from the three cats and letting them pass. Spiderjump dipped his head to the other tom, while Mouseheart only smiled and kept moving.

Swiftstar softly huffed when another cat called for him, and he recognized the voice, Dawnpool. He turned and squinted at the cream tabby she-cat who let out a small chuckle of amusement at his disgruntled expression. "What, are you really tired?" She questioned, narrowing her blue eyes back at him.

"Seriously, what happened to the Swiftstar that caught two squirrels during a hunting assessment? I mean, you haven't really grown up much at all."

Swiftstar sighed at this and began to reply. "Dawnpool, what do you want?" He inquired, large ears flattening against his head. Dawnpool grinned widely, tail lashing. "You're coming with me to pick flowers." She answered, approaching the tom and brushing against him, before hitting his cheek gently with her tail-tip. He growled lightly at her. "Yeah, okay," He muttered. "But why me? Go get Wingleap, he needs to get his ass up."

"Swiftstar, you barely do anything leader-like, now's the time for you to actually act like an apprentice again and help me."

"Dawnpool, no, I would like to go to sleep, please."

"Come on, lets go."

Swiftstar hissed as he felt jaws clamp down on his tail and begin to drag him. _No, no, no._ He repeated this in his head, glancing one last time at the vole laying on the ground, which was taken by Starlingflight, who simply strolled over and took the rodent and went over to Mistystream, who sat by the pile and rested there until Mouseheart collected Fleetpaw. Swiftstar resisted the urge to wail like a kit, besides it was embarrassing for him enough to be pulled away by some small, cream-colored medicine cat.

This appeared to amuse Dawnpool, as Swiftstar could hear her purr loudly as they both exited the camp and went out to gather flowers.

It wasn't long until Dawnpool let go of Swiftstar after leaving the camp. He got ready to run back, but kept himself from doing so. He snarled at Dawnpool. She kept a cheerful look on her face, chirping happily before beginning the list of herbs. "Alright, you know what borage looks like? We're gonna need that- and also, juniper berries and snakeroot. Goldenrod too, we can head to the TalonClan border and get some there, maybe thyme too." She purred, before grabbing Swiftstar's tail and dragging him off again.


	6. Chapter 5

Another moon passed already.

Swiftstar uneasily watched the leaves on the oak trees, swallowing hard. It was leaf-fall now, and although not many leaves have fallen yet, he felt like he was being run over by discomfort. His focus was kept on the tree limbs, instead of the patrol he was leading toward the MudClan border. Behind him, Starlingflight and Tawnyfur both trotted along quietly.

"Swiftstar, are you alright?" Starlingflight asked, sauntering closer to the ginger-and-white cat's side. The fluffy, grey tom's green eyes shined softly. In reply, Swiftstar only nodded and stepped a bit away from the tom. At this, Starlingflight grunted and pulled away, back to Tawnyfur's side, who whispered something to him. Swiftstar didn't understand a bit of it, but gave their words no attention as he opened his mouth to taste any nearby scents.

There wasn't much around, only a squirrel's trail, the faint smell of a mouse and the morning hunting patrol. Swiftstar traveled to the border, twitching his nose at the foul scent of the damp, swampy area he was closing in on. Near MudClan's turf now, he sniffed around. The scent markers were faint- time to fix them. He rubbed himself against a cluster of vegetation and then a close tree, before glancing at Tawnyfur. The tomcat searched around, carefully stepping around in the muddy terrain.

Meanwhile, Starlingflight pressed against a tree and stared forward, perking his ears when Tawnyfur spoke, and Swiftstar turned to the golden cat. "MudClan's not been over the border." He informed the two, which Starlingflight responded to. "You sure about that? Think your senses are getting blocked by this filth, MudClan is full of strange cats," He went on. "How can they even bear this? It's hard not to get stuck in the mud."

Swiftstar simply shrugged at the cat, tail erect. He couldn't smell much of anything, only the fresh RoseClan markers. He then grunted softly, lifting his tail. "Come on you two." He uttered, before hurrying away. Those two could just catch up, he wanted to get out.

Then, someone had to open their mouth. "Swiftstar, can I go hunting?" Starlingflight yelled from fox-lengths away. Turning, Swiftstar simply trudged back, not bothering to shout in reply. Tawnyfur was already getting back to camp and passed Swiftstar on the way to Starlingflight. Once back at the border, Swiftstar sat down in the mud. "You don't need to be going around alone, I mean, we could go hunting or... Something, yeah-" He then paused and gazed at Starlingflight.

The grey tomcat sat between the border, half-way into MudClan's territory. "Starlingflight, get the hell over here, you're in the way- Starlingflight- I." He struggled for words, attempting to sound as polite as possible, while he kept stumbling over his sentences. Starlingflight stared at him, before letting out a brief "oh" and then sauntering toward Swiftstar.

Swiftstar growled softly at Starlingflight. "Come on, lets just go back..." He mumbled, kind of pushing Starlingflight away from the border. He took him back near the camp, and then stopped with a grumble.

"You can hunt around here, don't you dare go near MudClan again." _Little crapnugget._ Swiftstar added silently to himself, at this, Starlingflight blinked. "Sorry, Swiftstar, I didn't mean to."

"It's okay, just, come back before sunset, alright?" Swiftstar asked, immeadiately walking away after Starlingflight nodded and heading to the camp. Through the tunnel and all, he soon entered the clearing, passing Spiderjump, who was on guard duty.

Tawnyfur and Antshade both had a conversation, away from the other dens. Swiftstar didn't question and instead walked over to the freshkill pile, where Wingleap sat at, eating a shrew, while Berryfur sat beside him, grooming Mouseheart. He stared at Wingleap, then began to talk slowly. "Hey, uh, has Tawnyfur reported to you yet?" In return, Wingleap didn't talk but instead nodded, mouth full of prey.

Swiftstar closed it at that, meowing a quick greeting to Berryfur and Mouseheart. He then headed toward the hollowed out tree, where the nursery was. Entering the dwelling, he coughed awkwardly.

Swiftstar squinted at Snowsplash, a small black-and-white queen, he slumbered peacefully, tail wrapped around her two offspring, a dark grey tom named Duskkit and a black-and-white she-kit named Sleekkit. Then, he quietly glanced at Petalstripe. The slender ginger tabby snoozed comfortably in her nest. Quietly, he huffed at his younger sister, but then paused.

Where were Brightkit, Furzekit and Mosskit. _Oh, dear lord no. _He quietly screamed, bristling his fur. Out of all the kits in the nursery, he believed those two were the most obedient. He let out a small hiss at Petalstripe and poked her in the side forcefully. This woke the ginger she-cat up, and caused her to growl somewhat. "What do _you _want? I'm trying to sleep, Swiftstar, can't you leave me alone?"

Swiftstar bit his tongue and then replied. "Y-Your kits, Petalstripe, where are they?"

"Outside, they been playing outside all day so I decided to sleep- now go away."

"Petalstripe, they're missing, I can't find them anywhere." Swiftstar muttered and with this, Petalstripe instantly shot her head up. "You can't find them?" The she-cat breathed, eyes widening and he shook his head in response.

Swiftstar then tensed at a sharp, annoyed hiss. Snapping his yellow gaze to Dawnpool, who stood in the nursery's entrance, he quietly whimpered. _Please don't start anything._ He begged, while Dawnpool approached the tomcat and very slowly whispered in his ear.

"_You little shit, don't scare your sister, Furzekit and Mosskit are outside the den, not the camp and Brightkit is in my den, go look for them." _Dawnpool hissed softly into his ear, and at this, Swiftstar felt his fur grow really hot, flattening his large ears. He didn't get it. Why did she have her tone at that quiet, exasperated-sounding level? Quietly, he dipped his head to Petalstripe and backed out of the den quickly. Clumsily, he hurried out of the den, hitting his face on the ferns concealing the entrance.

Narrowing his eyes, Swiftstar caught sight of Mosskit and Furzekit. The two kittens played together with a moss ball. Mosskit's tiny, hooked claws grabbed into the piece of moss, flung it up somewhat and let out an excited squeal as Furzekit bolted over and playfully tackled him. Swiftstar walked away in a faster pace, not bothering to greet the two, while he glanced at the medicine cat den. There was Brightkit at the burrow, perhaps waiting for Dawnpool to return, holding a twig in her mouth.

Swiftstar walked over to Mouseheart, who had finished her time with Berryfur and sat outside the warriors' den, giving her pawpad a few licks. Swiftstar then reached her, softly murmuring to himself. The grey-and-white cat appeared to be concerned immeadiately. "Are you okay?"

"I messed up, Mouseheart." Swiftstar answered.

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**Hey, hoped you liked it. ovo**

**I really don't know why, but I kind of liked this chapter, despite the fact that it was a bit rushed. :')**

**review, follow, like, do whatever**

**have a nice day and thank you for reading this**

**thing**


	7. Chapter 6

Swiftstar lumbered onto the hill above his den, nervously staring at the crowd below. Fleetpaw and Dustpaw stood out among the cats, excited looks on their faces. Above, the half moon shone brightly and with Dawnpool out of the camp, Swiftstar had more of a break. Except he had to do ceremonies for two apprentices and listen to Wingleap's reports on the evening patrol. Clearing his throat, Swiftstar began to speak.

"Hello, yes, um," He coughed between words, trying not to stumble. Wingleap, who stood on his left side, nodded at him, amber eyes gleaming. "We are here to name two new warriors, Dustpaw and Fleetpaw. Both cats have been mentored well by Spiderjump and Tawnyfur, and if they could step forward that could be great." _I mean if they want to or whatever. _

The two apprentices took steps forward, sat down side by side. Swiftstar could tell they were joyful to earn their new names, while Swiftstar was just happy the cream tabby was gone for now. He swallowed hard before proceeding further with the naming.

"Dustpaw," Swiftstar began to announce, slithering down the small hill, leaving Wingleap behind. "Do you accept the responsibility of holding the warrior code and fighting for your Clan with your life?" He asked, to which the brown tom replied with, "I do."

"Then I announce your new name as Dustnose, StarClan honors your determination and curiosity and welcomes you as a new warrior of RoseClan." He uttered, quickly putting his muzzle on the Dustnose's head, pulling away after his shoulder was licked. Coughing uneasily, trying to hide the fact his fur was rising, he turned to Fleetpaw.

"Fleetpaw, do you promise to protect the warrior code and your Clan with your life?"

"I do." The light brown-and-white tom purred, eyes shining. A shiver went down his spine when he remembered these two cats were Pouncestar's kin, but he pushed the thought away. The deceased tom would be glad his grandkits became warriors. Taking a breath before returning to the meeting, he responded.

"Then I announce your name as Fleetleg. StarClan honors your speed and loyalty and they welcome you as a full warrior of RoseClan."

Cheers erupted from the Clan cats and he nearly flinched at the loud sound, hurrying up with touching his muzzle to Fleetleg's head, shoulder licked and then backed quickly, dismissing the gathering with a flick of his tail, although he didn't think anyone noticed. He slid into the den and laid down quickly into his moss nest. No apprentices to come in and clean the moss for a while, he would somewhat miss talks with Dustnose when the cat came in to tidy up, but was glad the tomcat was higher-ranked now.

Sighing softly, Swiftstar then turned to the sound of pawsteps. Wingleap stood there, tail drooped and dragging behind him. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Fine," Swiftstar responded quickly, then asked him. "What is the report on TalonClan and MudClan?"

"A MudClan apprentice went over the border today, hunting assessment. Spiderjump apparently scared him off with his patrol, consisting of Mistystream and Antshade. At TalonClan's territory, everything seems calm, something you'd expect from those moorrunners. Tawnyfur, Mouseheart, and Starlingflight found nothing suspicious of that Clan. When I went hunting with Mistystream, I found a trace of some badgers, fresh too."

A chill went down Swiftstar's spine. "Can you send a patrol in the morning to go after the badgers? How many were there?"

"Only two, it appears," said Wingleap, giving his long fur a hasty groom while Swiftstar's tensed muscles grew more stiff. "Near MudClan's border, further west. Also, I put the two new warriors on the silent vigil. They will both be full warriors in the morning, Dawnpool will also be back tomorrow."

_Oh, great she's going to be back soon. _Swiftstar nodded at Wingleap, flicking his long tail. "Alright, um, Wingleap, you may now leave." He muttered. The other tomcat blinked at him. "Would you like anything else before I go?"

Swiftstar nodded slowly, just now feeling hunger bite at his stomach. He mumbled to himself some gibberish and then replied. "Yes, if you could maybe fetch me a piece of freshkill from the pile, that would be nice. Maybe a shrew?" Swiftstar suggested and Wingleap nodded, backing out of the burrow.

With a small huff, Swiftstar wanted to pull himself into sleep, but hunger got the best of him. The tom laid awake, curled in his nest up until Wingleap returned, an old, skinny shrew in his jaws Swiftstar huffed as the piece of prey landed on his head and Wingleap simply walked out of the den, leaving Swiftstar alone with the shrew. Looking at the freshkill he slowly began to eat it. _Just me and shrew now. _He told himself, listening to the fading sounds of talking outside. The cats were going to sleep early.

He swallowed bites of the shrew and in a few moments, finished it and shivered. It tasted awful for a shrew but still accepted the fact he got something to eat. Even with a now full stomach and a soft change in moss bedding, he still felt uncomfortable. After all, he did have to deal with badgers later tomorrow morning.


	8. Chapter 7

**First fight scene in this one. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**I really can't write fight scenes for the life of me, but hey. It's Warriors, so there's most likely going to be a fight. Enjoy this really crappy chapter. ovo**

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Swiftstar cautiously followed the tracks. The whole patrol behind him followed, consisting of Berryfur, Mouseheart, Spiderjump, Tawnyfur and Dawnpool. The ginger-and-white tom collected those who he thought could do most of the work for him, as he really didn't want to confront a badger, having a slight fear of them. He walked very slowly, passed by Spiderjump and Antshade, then Berryfur. Mouseheart hurried to the tomcat's side.

The scent grew heavier as the patrol moved deeper into the muddy land. Swiftstar hauled himself through the damp terrain, struggling not to get stuck. His yellow eyes were wide, almost scared-looking, while Dawnpool murmured into his ear. "_Scared, kit?_" She exhaled and then moved on ahead. A feeling ignited in Swiftstar's chest and he furrowed his brow. Why was she acting like this? She was always a little rude and flamboyant, but this was quite odd for him.

Swiftstar growled lowly at her, this seeming to have caught Mouseheart's attention. "Are you okay, Swiftstar?" She chirped. The tom simply nodded in return and went on further ahead, eyes squinting and he nearly reeled away and ditched the patrol there, although he fought against the temptation. The foul scent of badger was all around, disgusting creatures.

Swiftstar shivered, not from the cool air but the fact any badger could be around. The ginger-and-white tabby, uncomfortable as he may be, swallowed hard and uttered loudly. "Everyone, keep on guard, we wouldn't want any of them sneaking up behind us." He said, then backed away closer to Mouseheart and Berryfur. The two she-cats stood where they were and kept silent.

Swiftstar soon tensed up, feeling a sharp pain in his neck when he turned his head to Tawnyfur. The golden-yellow warrior stood there quietly, feet seeming to be stuck in the mud at the moment but he didn't struggle against it. What straight up terrified Swiftstar to the point he couldn't speak, was the fact that there seemed to be a larger figure behind him. The creature was stocky, a grayish-black color with white streaks and a massive, triangular-shaped head.

Swiftstar heard loud shrieks heard loud shrieks and it was all a blur after he had seen the badger rise onto its hindpaws. All he had seen was a flash of dark ginger fur, Berryfur and then Dawnpool stepping in front of him. Berryfur was the first to even react and she tackled the badger head-on. He was too tense to even move or think correctly as he watched Berryfur pounce on the badger and then be joined by Spiderjump. Dawnpool backed away from the fight and went to a safer distance, before hissing at Swiftstar.

"Fight, you idiot!" Dawnpool shouted at the tom, who stood in place, shocked. Swiftstar breathed heavily, trembling violently as a knot tightened in his throat. The tom didn't do anything at all, while Dawnpool yelled at him to attack the badger. Mouseheart, who stood beside Swiftstar, growled at the other she-cat and stood, back arched and fur raised.

Spiderjump, Tawnyfur and Berryfur hissed and shrieks as they battled with the larger animal, one at a time jumping on the badger. Swiftstar's hackles rose and he backed away, before bumping into something. He froze instantly, growing dead silent. What he touched was warm, breathing and furry it appeared. He bit his lip and didn't dare look behind him, claws slowly sliding out of their sheathes, eyes growing wider. He glanced at Dawnpool.

The cream tabby just stared at him, mouth open ajar. She stood there, at the base of an oak tree, stuck in place either from horror or because of the muddy terrain the cats were in. A screech was heard from Mouseheart and he felt the grey-and-white cat ram into his side and knock him away from the badger. With a loud squeak, he plopped to the ground, seeing a flash of blood. Two badgers, five warriors and a random medicine cat. It would be a rough job for them to deal with.

Cowering, Swiftstar whimpered, watching Mouseheart swipe a paw at the badger before getting smacked with a large forepaw. The female cat yelped and then crouched down there, until a hiss sounded from Tawnyfur. The golden-yellow tom raced over to Mouseheart in her defense and growled at the badger.

The badger snarled furiously, before locking its dark brown eyes with Swiftstar's shaking body. _We're all going to die._ Swiftstar told himself, gazing at the dark grey creature who retaliated Tawnyfur's blows to its side by slamming a forepaw into him. He heard a loud yowl from the tom as the badger jumped onto him. This seemed to through Spiderjump and Berryfur off, as the two were hit by the other badger. Soon, they regained their balance, but instead of fighting back, they rushed to Tawnyfur's aid.

Swiftstar flashed his eyes to the badger that Berryfur and Spiderjump were fighting. It was injured, but appeared to still have light in its eyes as it ran for him.

Swiftstar let out a terrified yelp as the badger approached and then lifting its long, sharp claws, made a severe blow to the tomcat's backside. Agony pulsed through him and he felt as if he were deafened for the moment, not being able to hear a thing after the badger's claws tore into his neck. He felt blood fly from his wound and into the air, some droplets landing on his muzzle. Ears flattened, he weakly tried to jab a paw at the badger, which let out a loud, angry growl.

Swiftstar felt blood on his claws, back and muzzle, while the badger aimed another attack, this time at his backside yet, and this time, the pain was numbing him. He screeched in terror, while the grey-black animal kept putting its claws on him. He couldn't move or do anything else, he just allowed this, until he heard Mouseheart holler and then he saw her leap onto its back. A chill raced down his spine, pain flooding his body.

Swiftstar dropped his blood-stained head, yellow eyes wide and beginning to weaken, up until his vision was blurred and things grew more and more dim. His surrounding finally dark, the tom braced himself while the cries of his clanmates were heard,faintly until they too faded away.


	9. Chapter 8

The sun was shining over the empty meadow, the sky a pinkish-orange pigment. The clouds held a pale grey, almost white, color to them. The grassland was completely free of the trees, only tall, narrow blades of light, pale greenish-brown grass. This was a place Swiftstar wasn't used to. He stood right where he was, fear still bubbling inside him. The images of the large, stocky figure of the gray-black-and-white badger flashed in his mind and he trembled slightly.

Eventually, he snapped out of it.

Swiftstar's yellow eyes widened at the land he realized he was in and his fear reached a new height and he whimpered loudly, crouching down, belly touching the warm terrain. His ginger ears drooped back and his hackles rose. The tom rose to his feet, before breaking out in a sudden run, moving at a fast, reckless pace. He couldn't see where he was running, he even nearly tripped a few times, unable to stop. He just wanted to run from this bizarre new place and get back to RoseClan- as fast as he could.

Swiftstar hissed lightly, as blades of grass hit him in the face and brushed against his fur. He ran for what seemed like minutes to him, and he couldn't find anything new, like he was going in circles. Eyes squinting, he tried desperately to pick up his speed. Later, something caught his eye- something white and fluffy. The tom slid to a halt, and sat down, gasping for breath, vision blurry. Looking around for what he thought was fur, he felt numb.

All he remembered was a battle with the two badgers and Mouseheart leaping at the one attacking him. Now, he was here. He continued to pant, throat becoming dry and head pounding with pain. A headache and a dry throat, great. Today would be a good day.

Swiftstar, disturbed in a great amount, lowered his head and looked around. He had to find any cat in the meadow, someone, anyone.

Swiftstar crouched down, curling up, eyes tightly closed, ears pinned backward. Was this a dream? It was a dream. He knew it was and I'm sure you knew it too. The ginger-and-white tom sat up, puffing up his chest fur and waited patiently. He should wake up soon.

This took longer than it needed to be. He couldn't make himself wake up, not much how much he tried, then again, Swiftstar rarely dreamed at all, so that may be the case. He erected his tail, and sighed softly after standing back up and beginning to saunter on. Swiftstar perked his ears as he finally picked up something, sensing a cat, perhaps. He looked up and glanced over his shoulder, nothing there.

Swiftstar saw nothing in the environment he was in- nothing but the tall grass that towered above him by two inches. The ginger-and-white tom decided to give up and let whatever the point was to the dream hurry up on its own. It wasn't until later, he heard the rustling of foliage and snapped his attention to the direction where the sound was released, he found out quickly that is was close. Getting up, he murmured softly. "Who's there?" He called, tone growing louder by the second word.

The tomcat shivered, before something caught his eye. A small, extremely thin, cat-looking shape passed through the grass, with long, black-and-white fur it appeared. Swiftstar stared ahead, ready to call out again when the numbness returned and he couldn't say a word. That was when the dream suddenly cut off and everything turned dark.

It stayed this way, for what appeared to be ten minutes to thirty. _Damn it, just let me wake up already. _

Swiftstar woke up to two cats, one a ginger tabby with soft, orange-colored eyes. The other cat was larger and light grey with dark amber eyes. He identified them as Petalstripe and Wingleap and quietly inhaled. Sunlight glowed outside the burrow and beamed through the entrance. He kept himself inaudible, an aching pain in the back of his neck.

The tom realized that he laid in a moss nest, in the medicine it seemed as he scented the sharp, sour tang of herbs. He gazed softly at his sister and deputy, an inability to move or speak to them, eyes half-closed. He heard murmurs from Petalstripe. "Dawnpool, is he going to die, will he be okay?" She asked the medicine cat, who was out of sight.

"He's fine, Petalstripe," Swiftstar heard Dawnpool's voice from behind him. "Now, both of you, get out. He's going to need some space." The cream tabby approached the two cats and pushed them away gently. She snapped at Wingleap who in response to this, growled softly before backed out of the burrow. Petalstripe seemed to hesitate, but just left the den with the tom.

Swiftstar huffed softly, eyeing Dawnpool. The striped medicine cat gave him a somewhat stern look, laying the tip of her fluffy tail on his nose. "You need to learn how to fight back," She hissed. "Mouseheart and Tawnyfur are both badly injured and you lost a life."

Swiftstar grunted, not daring to get up before the last words that were said registered in his mind. He lost a life? His heartbeat quickened. He was only a leader for two months and already died. Further more, two of his warriors were hurt and he nearly lifted his head, if the pain didn't stop him.

Dawnpool lightly growled at him. "You had Petalstripe worried." She grunted, narrowing her pale blue eyes and then got back to her feet, strolling over to the herb storage, returning with a couple of plants, dropping them and then asking, "Why didn't you fight?" Swiftstar simply shrugged.

"A shrug isn't an answer, 'I don't know' isn't one either. Swiftstar, you had everyone concerned for you, Tawnyfur and Mouseheart." said Dawnpool, before shaking her head.

The cream tabby she-cat's lips were pulled back and she snarled. Dawnpool grunted at Swiftstar, who only stared at her, blinking. He sighed internally, feeling like he was shrinking in response to Dawnpool's growls and snarls toward him and he glanced down quickly, then flashed his eyes to the side. Mouseheart was in a separate nest, next to Tawnyfur in another nest and he felt a quick, sharp pang hit him in the chest.

Swiftstar cringed as the stinging feeling of a herb poultice was rubbed into the wound in the back of his neck and he gazed at Dawnpool for a while longer, then stared back ahead at the light moving into the burrow, flank heaving slowly as he tried to fall back to sleep.


	10. Chapter 9

Swiftstar laid his tail on Mouseheart's back, huffing softly as he watched the grey-and-white warrior sleep without problem in the moss bedding in Dawnpool's den. He turned away from her and glanced at Tawnyfur. The tom was healing gradually. With a small sigh, Swiftstar rose to his feet and stepped away from the nests, inching toward the opening of the den sluggishly. Dawnpool would be back soon, and of course, she would be annoyed with him for some reason.

Swiftstar lumbered out of the medicine cat den, relieved to leave the sharp, sour scent of herbs behind. He tried to ignore the pain that still lingered in his neck and hurried on to his own den. It was midnight and no cat was out in the clearing, except for himself. If he was lucky, he would be able to avoid any confrontation by any of the other cats. Flashing a swift look at the camp's entrance, he saw Mistystream, who he assumed was put on guard and lightly huffed, before finally reaching his den and sliding inside.

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_Next Day_

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Swiftstar stalked through the shrubbery, sunlight shining through the undergrowth, dotting his pelt a somewhat lighter color. The ginger-and-white tom sniffed out the scent of a squirrel and had went after it. He cautiously took quiet steps, looking down at his paws and checking for fallen twigs beneath his feet. He narrowed his eyes at the furry animal as he finally located it through the vegetation, digging a hole at the ground, checking for seeds or nuts it seemed.

Unsheathing his claws, Swiftstar got ready to dart at the squirrel, hackles raising. With a loud hiss, the tom vaulted out of the bushes and lunged at it. The prey quickly began to run, right before the tom could even catch up. His forepaw extended and he attempted to smack the bushy-tailed animal, missing by half a mouse-length, when the pain in his neck returned. The tom yelped, fur bristling as he stopped the hunt, allowing the squirrel to race away.

Swiftstar hissed through gritted teeth, the aching flashed through his body and his head pounded with a slight pain. He loudly cursed, staggering and then crouching down, ears flattened against his head. The tom slowly rose to his paws, shaking his dirt-covered fur, giving it a few rushed licks. Tapping his tail-tip on the ground in frustration, he let out a quiet sigh, not wanting to move.

Damn it. Swiftstar swore silently, arching his back and mewing quietly like a kitten from the slight pain now spreading. He then began to head to the camp, as he felt his neck's injury worsen, as if he reopened it. The tom strolled away after stretching, until he heard something- hisses and yowls. This caused him to pause and tense. Was the camp getting attacked? Why didn't he notice anything?

It took him a while to realize the sounds were not coming from the camp but the nearby MudClan border instead. Swiftstar shuffled his feet. It was where the border patrol had headed, and he would have much rather had them tangle with TalonClan or no other Clan at all. He turned around and went toward the southern area, as the sound of fighting and the metallic, sharp scent of blood intensed as he walked onward.

Swiftstar's heart sank while he neared the location. Peeking out of the foliage, he saw his three warriors- Antshade, Fleetleg and Dustnose. There were four MudClan cats, and he recognized them as Mothfur, Cindertip, Hazelpelt and Ivypaw. The two patrols were apart from each other by a fox-length, while Mothfur stood in front of the MudClan warriors, lip pulled back in a sneer. "You crossed the damn border, now get out of here, now." hissed the light brown tabby.

Swiftstar grunted silently to himself at Mothfur. The tom's long, thick fur was ruffled and he could see torn fur hanging off his long, ragged whiskers. He stepped out of the foliage, then found out soon enough. The RoseClan patrol was no where near the MudClan border. Were these cats just looking for a fight?

Antshade craned his neck to Swiftstar and his pupils narrowed. "Swiftstar?" breathed the black tom, blood trickling from small scratches on his muzzle.

Swiftstar internally grumbled and squinted at Antshade, before glancing at the other patrol. "Is there a problem, Mothfur?" He asked quietly. Mothfur replied with a rough-sounding growl. "The problem is, Swiftstar, is that your cats have strayed too far onto our land. Keep an eye on them." He hissed.

Swiftstar slowly nodded. "I see, uh," He coughed awkwardly as both patrols had their eyes locked on him, feeling something wet at his neck. He breathed unsteadily, then emitted a small hiss at his own warriors. "All three of you, go back to the camp and report to Wingleap." He ordered.

Fleetleg was the only one to object. "Swiftstar, they were on our territory first! They came here, lookin' for a fight!" He hissed, fur fluffed up, biting his lip after speaking. Swiftstar snarled at the young warrior and flicked his tail. "You, need to go back, all of you," He commanded once again, frustration beginning to boil underneath his pelt as he turned to the MudClan cats. "You too, get away from here."

Mothfur lightly growled at Swiftstar, tail lashing. "Watch your cats." He said, exchanging a glance with Ivypaw, who had a torn left ear. The calico she-cat huffed and looked at Dustnose for a moment, uneasiness in her gaze while Mothfur twitched his tailtip for his cats to follow. One by one, the MudClan group took off into the undergrowth, headed toward their own land.

Swiftstar shot a quick look at his own Clanmates, as they also took off. Very slowly, he followed, head lowered. He was slowed down by the pain in his neck as it grew somewhat stiff. The tomcat traveled through the tunnel toward the RoseClan camp and as soon as he entered, he paused.

There was a certain cream tabby she-cat. Today would be a wonderful day, with a medicine cat yelling at him after his neck wound reopened and his own cats got into a skirmish. While Dawnpool hurried to lead the patrol to the medicine cat den, Swiftstar sat there beside the entrance, meowing a quiet greeting to Spiderjump. Soon, Dawnpool emerged from her den within half an hour or so, and above the camp, the pink-and-amber glow of sunset beamed over the forest.


	11. Chapter 10

Swiftstar growled as he was dragged to his own den by the scruff. Dawnpool was pretty much treating him like a kitten now and he wasn't appreciating anything that she was doing to him. Snarling, he kicked her in the side with his hindlegs. In response to this, Dawnpool backed away with a small yelp, fur bristling. Her pale blue eyes shone with frustration, ears flattened against her head and tail fluffed up. "What the hell is with you, Swiftstar?" She spat at him and he kept quiet, glowering at her. You're the one who won't leave me alone. He replied inwardly.

"You need to stop getting everyone worried," Dawnpool's tone heightened and almost turned into a yell. "Herbs aren't endless, Swiftstar, and if you don't wait to go hunt then you will get an infection and possibly lose another life. Is that what you want, Swiftstar? To die again and put your Clan in danger because you're using up all the healing supply?" Swiftstar swallowed hard at her loud voice, crouching down and backing away and feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Something wet blurred his vision and he lowered his face, trying to hide any tears that would be trickling from his eyes and down his face.

"Get out, Dawnpool." Swiftstar growled forcefully, claws sliding out of their sockets and tugging at the ground beneath him. The cream tabby female continued to stand right where she was, and he could see the glint of her claws and her hackles being raised. She opened her mouth to retort, bunching up her muscles. "You just go around acting like you're invincible. You will get RoseClan in a lot of trouble if you keep this up-"

"Dawnpool!" A noisy growl rumbled from outside the burrow and Dawnpool spun her head around. Looking past her, Swiftstar could see the light grey shape of Wingleap outside of the cave, giving the two cats a cold glare. "Leave him alone." said the tom, and when Dawnpool tried to talk back, Wingleap instantly padded over before she could say a word. Looming over the medicine cat, this appeared to scare her somewhat as she crouched into a more submissive position.

Wingleap snatched Dawnpool by the nape of her neck and began to drag her away from Swiftstar and out of the den, where she was met with a growl from Mistystream. Swiftstar kept quiet, pretending not to listen to the slander from Mistystream, that was directed toward Dawnpool. He crawled to his neck, quivering, fur still ruffled. A lump formed in her throat and then throbbed and shook violently. He tried to keep a random scream from letting out, plopping down in his nest.

Forepaws on his head, Swiftstar's claws pierced the skin and made small scratches between his ears. Shivering, he curled up into a tight ball of fur, nose tucking into his tail. He tried to ignore everything that happened. He had to for RoseClan. At least he thought he had to.

Swiftstar forced himself to close his eyes and relax his muscles and push away the thoughts of today- the problem with MudClan, his wound reopening and now, just Dawnpool acting up again. Gradually, he sunk into slumber.

Swiftstar awoke to a blurry setting, but through his messed up vision he could find that he was somewhere new. Somewhere almost frightening to him. He was on a dark, wet thunderpath, beside the road were large, grey objects. Some were white or beige, and had roofs over them that were reddish-brown or a dull blue-grey. A frigid rain pounded hard on his back, dampening within seconds of entering the dream. He wasn't able to identify this place instantly and breathed heavily, raindrops sliding off his whiskers.

Some of the twoleg nests were at least somewhat familiar. Swiftstar, although he rarely went close to the twolegplace, recognized a small building, made with white bricks and topped with a dark grey roof. The ginger-and-white tom stood on the road before cautiously stepping off. What was even happening? He gazed around with wide, yellow eyes and slowly padded over to one of the brown picket fences surrounding one of the twoleg nests- the one he was at least familiar with.

That was when he spotted some cat, standing on the top of the fence. The shape appeared to be small, although Swiftstar couldn't quite make out what the cat looked like as water splashed on his face and the rumble of a monster started up. The cat was black-and-white, small and plump it appeared. A pale orange collar was around her neck, with a tiny silver bell. She only stared down at him with bright yellow eyes, brimming with curiosity and cheerfulness. Swiftstar, upon further inspection, realized that she was about two moons older than him and that she was a kittypet.

Swiftstar gulped before finally speaking out. "Hello, uh, who are you?" He asked quietly, tone almost drowning out by the sound of rain. The chubby black-and-white cat purred, obviously brimming with joy for no apparent reason. "Shelly," She stated simply. "My name is Shelly. What's your name?"

"My name is Swiftstar." He mumbled in reply. Swiftstar continued to stare at this cat. Was she even real? No cat he met would act this happy- except for maybe Starlingflight.

Shelly giggled at him. "Swiftstar? Who would be named Swiftstar?" She wondered out loud and Swiftstar quietly grumbled at her as she kept talking. "Where's your housefolk?" She asked. Swiftstar, assuming Shelly was asking where the twolegs that kept him were at, shook his head. "I... Don't have any 'housefolk'." The sentence didn't feel right on his tongue.

"Oh, so you're a stray," Shelly replied, crinkling her nose and frowning. "You could get yourself housefolk, ya'know. They'll feed you, and brush you and play with you. Garbage can't be good to eat and you must have a lot of hairballs, yuck."

Swiftstar paused. Get himself some housefolk? Why would he want a twoleg to take care of him? Then again, this was a dream and things that seemed odd were bound to happen. "I'm fine living as a stray." He told her, not sure if he should talk about himself being the leader of a Clan. Maybe Shelly would think that he was insane if he did. "Being a stray gives you a lot of freedom. Also, I don't eat garbage, I eat things like birds and mice."

Shelly grinned. "That sounds cool, though, kinda," She meowed. "But why do 'ya gotta eat mice? It'd be so much more easier if you got something like tuna or chicken, served right to you!" She exclaimed, yellow eyes glittering as she spoke about food.

"But there's a lot of freedom, and..." Swiftstar trailed off. Something about food just being served to him was enticing. He stared at the she-cat, as she waited for a reply, until he felt something, someone, prod his back.

Swiftstar pulled himself out of his dream, the work was mostly done by the grey cat sitting beside him. "Swiftstar, are you okay? You were talking in your sleep about kittypets." said Starlingflight, who had somehow gotten into his den. Whoever let him in would pay.


	12. Chapter 11

**guys i just noticed this, but.**

**i have been calling fleetleg a male all this time, but.**

**he is really a she, i need to get this straight.**

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Swiftstar growled, after having ordered Starlingflight out of his den. Who even let him in? Why did he come into the den? The world may never know...

Swiftstar kept quiet as he laid lazily in his nest. The dream he had was unutterable, and he couldn't quite explain it. He felt some strange connection with Shelly, but she couldn't be real. He never met her, seen her near the twolegplace or even heard of her before. Maybe he could go ask Dawnpool, after all she was older than him by six moons. She might just have an idea, but why would he even go to her? He disliked her now, greatly, in fact. Couldn't stand her. Possibly the most annoying cat ever in his opinion.

Head laying on the moss bedding, Swiftstar ignored the pain in the back of his neck and stared forward with glistening, bright yellow eyes. Dawnpool was just acting more and more like a ticking time bomb each day and it slightly scared him. It was all so sudden as well, he couldn't expression how he felt in the situation. All he could do in response was growl and act angry with her. Knowing that the two were best friends hurt him internally.

A lump formed in his throat. _Acting so angry all the time, stupid, explosive medicine cat. _Swiftstar rambled to himself, quivering like a cold, weak kit. He didn't feel tired, but knew for a fact that Dawnpool would be outside in the camp, ready to yell at him for a dumb reason if he walked out to even get a piece of fresh-kill. The ginger-and-white tom lowered his face and tucked his nose into his paws, his large, sharp ears drooping and his tail wrapping around his shaking body.

Closing his eyes, Swiftstar wanted to go back into his sleep, but wasn't able to at all. Letting out a soft exhale, he opened his eyes again and grumbled. "I should have let Starlingflight stay." He mumbled to him. If the warrior stayed with Swiftstar, he would then have some entertainment at least, even if Starlingflight acted like a little happy-go-lucky apprentice.

Thinking back on Shelly now, he could recall the feelings he felt at the time of meeting her. Ignoring the inclement weather and everything else, remembering the mention of food and the collar around the tiny black-and-white cat's neck. A kittypet's life, it appeared to have no problems or at least, none that Swiftstar knew about. Then, Swiftstar shook his head, pulling his mind away from the thoughts.

Shelly was a kittypet, and most likely just a figmentation of his imagination, left over from when he was a kit. But, with this in mind, Shelly was still calling to Swiftstar. Without a word, he rose to his feet and paced around his dwelling out of pure boredom. After thirty or fourty steps around, he flopped down beside his nest, releasing a quiet yelp as his neck wound ached more. He gazed outside. _Please, I'll take anybody to talk to. I'll take the stupid tom that wanders over territories like an apprentice. I'll even take the shipping kitty-cat warrior or just my sister, come on, now. _The tom complained to himself, rolling his eyes.

Eventually, his complaints were answered. Swiftstar lifted his head to the noise of a familiar low-pitch meow and a light grey tom. "Wingleap?" He breathed quietly, and he could see a nod from outside the den and the tom's dark amber eyes shining from outside the den. He saw the lighter-colored paws of Wingleap and then the slender tom's full body as he slid into the leader's den. "Yes, Swiftstar, it is me." He said, trotting over to the ginger-and-white tabby.

"Do you need anything?" Wingleap asked. Swiftstar then nodded. "Yes, can you maybe get a piece of freshkill? We could share it if you'd like." He answered.

Wingleap grunted and backed out of the den right after. In his words, Swiftstar could just sense what his deputy was thinking. _He thinks I'm lazy too. Damn it, Dawnpool, why'd you have to go all annoying so suddenly? _Swiftstar thought, twitching his pinkish nose.

It wasn't very long until Wingleap returned, a thrush in his mouth. He set the limp bird down and tore off a bite for himself before beginning to eat it. He consumed the chunk of meat in a couple of bites, lips stained with tiny specks of blood. Swiftstar quietly ripped a bit of the wing from the thrush, listening to Wingleap as he spoke. "You know, Swiftstar, Dawnpool did have a point last night." The grey tom murmured. _Great StarClan, not this again._

"You shouldn't have been out hunting right after receiving that injury, and you just made it worse by reopening it. Also, Dawnpool was already running low on supplies, so no wonder she would be frustrated," Wingleap explained, in his low, gentle-sounding voice. "And you have to remember Softpelt, she's been getting older. She's starting to forget things." He murmured the last part.

Swiftstar didn't reply, but curtly nodded. Wingleap blinked before continuing. "And Mouseheart and Tawnyfur... Tawnyfur has recovered fine now, but Mouseheart would still need to take moons off from warrior duties. She's a weak cat- physically, of course. She really does have a good emotional and mental strength."

"I understand," said Swiftstar. "Let Mouseheart take a few weeks off, maybe a moon and a half at least. As for Dawnpool, uh, I feel too awkward to... talk with her, at the moment. I hope you can tell her that I'm sorry. I-I'll listen to her next time, she does, after all, have a point. It was stupid of me and, I- I, just," He bit his tongue and tried to control his stumbling over sentences. "Uh, yes, just... Tell her that I apologize, please, Wingleap."

Wingleap nodded, slowly rising to his feet. "I will tell her now," said the grey tom, giving his darker underfur a few quick licks. "Also, would you mind if I covered for you at the Gathering tonight? I'll report to you as soon as we are done."

"That would be nice, Wingleap." Swiftstar grunted and watched as his deputy dipped his head to him and then promptly sauntered out of the den.

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okay, for all the dawnpool x swiftstar shippers i have this message

Soon.


	13. Chapter 12

**Shout out to the unknown guy who screamed 'hawt' in a review.**

**Also, shout out to** **Echostorm0908. Thanks for reading and keeping up with this. Thing. Hope you have a nice day! ovo**

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Swiftstar listened to the quick pawsteps out of his den. It seemed the Clan had returned from the Gathering and silently, he waited for Wingleap to come around and enter his dwelling, the pain in his neck gone. He still wouldn't risk going outside, Dawnpool was going to be around to act up- unless, of course, Wingleap did speak with her. He got to his feet only to sit back down and give his disheveled fur a hasty grooming. He didn't bother to look up when Wingleap's head poked inside of the burrow. "Sir?"

"Wingleap, how was the Gathering?" Swiftstar questioned. Wingleap dipped his head to the tom and then entered the den slowly. "MudClan has a new warrior, Ivyheather," He began. "They have also been very low on prey, it appears. Perhaps we should try helping them-"

"Wingleap, we don't have much in our own territory. If they want prey, they can get it themselves." Swiftstar hissed, much to Wingleap's dismay. He opened his mouth to protest, but shut it quickly and procceeded. "TalonClan has been doing well on the moor..." He muttered, only loud enough for Swiftstar to hear. "They also have three new warriors, Otterstream, Leopardwing and Sagepelt." His tail tapped on the den's flooring as he awaited for Swiftstar's next reply.

Swiftstar nodded. "You can go now, Wingleap." He spoke, after finishing grooming himself. Wingleap quickly ambled outside, leaving him to be alone. Swiftstar walked back over to his nest with a grumble and flopped down in it, sneezing shortly afterward and then lifting his head and perking his ear to the sound of a familiar high-pitched, scratchy voice outside of the den. Inhaling, he turned to the cream she-cat outside of his den.

"Swiftstar, can I come in?" Dawnpool's voice had a slight crack to it. Without even waiting for a reply, the small cat padded into the den, much to Swiftstar's slight annoyance. He quietly stared at her, lips pulled back in a small scowl. _Great. What is it now? _He asked inwardly, looking at Dawnpool and waiting for her to say something else. He let his claws tug at the moss nest prepared for him and prayed that she didn't see him doing so. Luckily, she didn't seem to take note of it. "Can I talk to you, maybe?" She breathed.

Swiftstar felt something claw at his chest as he could only watch and listen as Dawnpool would most likely prepare the biggest argument yet. Yet, he forced a nod. _What even happened to the fastidious she-cat I know and don't love? _He thought to himself. Then, he remembered what Wingleap said and bit the tip of his tongue as Dawnpool just started speaking.

"Swiftstar, I-I'm sorry for yelling at you- I was just stressed a lot and with Softpelt just..." Dawnpool's voice trailed off and she shrugged her shoulders. This was very unlike the pestering, overly proud medicine cat. Swiftstar quietly grunted in return. "It's alright, Dawnpool, I apologize for, uh," _What do I even need to apologize for?_ "Um, using up all your medical supplies. I hope you'll forgive me. I'm very sorry about Softpelt too, but she'll get better." Swiftstar realized how stupid he sounded, but it was worth a shot to comfort her.

Dawnpool nodded slowly. "Alright," She murmured, ears flattened against her head. The petite cat sat down beside Swiftstar and gently headbutted him. "That's not the only reason I came in though, but if you're busy, then I guess I could come back later on."

"What is it?" inquired Swiftstar, trying to sound at least interested.

"Petalstripe's daughter, Brightkit, she's turning six moons in about a week and I was wondering," Dawnpool spoke louder this time. "If you'd mind if she trained as my apprentice. I told Petalstripe, and she approved."

Swiftstar nodded. "Go ahead," He grunted, nosing her cheek slightly. It was nice to talk to her again like this. "I'm sure she'll make a good apprentice for you."

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**here you go dawn x swift shippers**

**actually fun fact: This ship (Dawn x Swift) is canon. But they broke up because Swiftstrike was deputy and Dawnpool's mentor (aka Thrushthorn) died from greencough. They ditched each other because they needed to tend to their duties. Also they would have stayed mates if Dawnpool didn't become a medicine cat apprentice due to losing her sense of smell from a sickness.**

**another fun fact: the kitty cat shipper girl that was mentioned in the previous chapter was actually Berryfur.**

**Also I am so sorry this chapter is short.**


	14. Chapter 13

Okay, so, Dawnpool's okay, dunno where the heck Dustnose is- probably on patrol with Starlingflight and Berryfur, dear lord she's going to ship them, uh...

Swiftstar sat outside of his den, sharing a vole with Mouseheart, who still had yet to recover, but was going along well. It would be a week until she was up and patrolling again. Tawnyfur was, on the other hand, fully-healed, yet he did have a scar across his face and a torn ear that would stick with him.

Swiftstar dug his teeth into the rodent, ripping a small chunk of meat away and then passing the freshkill on to Mouseheart. The she-cat sniffed at it lightly before taking a smaller bite for herself.

"You can have the rest." Swiftstar told her, then laid his head gently on his paws. He didn't notice it before- what a great leader- that Mouseheart didn't seem to grow much, in weight and height. Mouseheart only looked at the vole and slowly shook her head after eating her piece.

"I'll take it to Snowsplash and her kits." Mouseheart responded and rose to her legs with the freshkill in her jaws. Swiftstar watched her walk off and a small flash of concern started in his mind.

Was she sick? She never ate a lot as a kit and he didn't know if any other cat noticed this yet. Maybe Dawnpool knew why.

Swiftstar leapt to his toes and headed toward his burrow silently, full from the meal, yet, somewhat tired. Before even entering the den, he paused. Upon further inspection in the darkness of the dwelling, he could make out a pale shape in his den. The cat didn't look like any of his Clan, and he slowly unsheathed his claws and dug them into the ground. He probably looked strange, gazing into his den from the outside, he received glances from his clanmantes, and he knew.

Swiftstar slowly slid into the den, down the steep slope and into his nest, watching as the transparent feline just vanished, causing him to let out an inward growl. Fur bristled, he quietly moved toward his nest. Even with the sight of a strange cat, there was something else on his mind- slumber.

Sinking into his bedding, Swiftstar laid, stretched out and waiting for sleep to overtake him- which it did, soon enough. All thoughts of the cat were still in his mind, but, he would have to take it in. If anything, he would have to inform Dawnpool later, when she was in the camp.

Engulfed in darkness now, Swiftstar waited for sleep to come to him, yet, it wasn't too long until he was transported into a much warmer, yet still darkened location. He felt like he was laying on something soft. The sound of a small fire crackling in the distance nearly scared him off the object he was on.

Lifting his head to look for the source of the flames, the ginger-and-white tomcat's yellow eyes widened. Swiftstar rose to his paws and glanced down. What he was standing on was a light blue-grey color, with a white floral pattern to it. Now peering over to look to see what was around the object, he found a flat, brown thing, with four, pawless, square legs sticking out. Under it, a white flooring was spread out in the location. Carefully, he jumped down from the object he was on and onto the floor- which was actually comfortable to be on.

Curiously, Swiftstar twitched his nose at the new scents that flooded around him- something sweet, something somewhat foul-smelling and bitter.

"Swiftstar? You came to visit?" Swiftstar identified that voice- not straight away, but only seconds after- and when he turned around to the cat who spoke. Shelly sat close to a wide passage way, that led away from the room and into another. The black-and-white she-cat's yellow eyes brightened, and she lept to her feet and trotted over to him. Swiftstar backed away from her a bit, fur fluffing up. "W-Where am I?"

"In my house!" Shelly purred, blinking curiously.

Swiftstar paused. Her home? He looked around. It was big for one kittypet to live in, and maybe, there was more to it, and it felt slightly familiar to him in a way, and a little comforting. He didn't realize that the she-cat was waiting for him to reply until she spoke up. "It's cool, isn't it?"

Turning back to Shelly, Swiftstar quickly nodded. "Uh, yeah, it's great." He murmured. Shelly purred and neared him more, before licking his fur.

"If you're gonna meet my housefolk, then you're gonna have to clean up." Shelly told the tom, he let out a small grunt in reply. He accepted the grooming, and even purred a little as it happened.

Then, Swiftstar felt a small amount of guilt hit him. He wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be dreaming of prey, and running through the forest, and fighting SandClan cats. Talking to chubby kittypets was not what he was supposed to do- dream or reality. However, something kept him there with Shelly.

He assumed that it was the food that a kittypet got for free. Maybe it was just Shelly, and how cheerful she was though? He didn't know- but he both loved the place he was dreaming in, yet also disliked it.

Unsheathing his claws a little, Swiftstar tried not to let Shelly notice them and slightly raked them across the carpet, getting one stuck in a strand of fabric. He silently waited for Shelly to finish, and she did and grinned at him. "You should meet Asher too. He's new to the neighborhood, and his owners come from a city far away. You both could get along well, I bet."

Swiftstar dipped his head to her. "Alright, uh, I will, maybe later..." He mumbled, before getting his claws unstuck and sheathing them. He then gave his pawpad a fast lick. Shelly nodded.

"Okay, that's fine with me." She purred.

Swiftstar rumbled in response gently, and rose to his paws. When he did, he heard a soft whisper speak to him, as everything just went black in a split second. _Remember this place?_


	15. Chapter 14

Swiftstar opened his eyes, no longer with Shelly.

With a quiet groan, the tomcat rolled over onto his side. The plump kittypet, Shelly, still haunted Swiftstar day and night. Now, it was the middle of leaf-fall. Prey was becoming scarce already, and competition with MudClan increased slightly.

Today was also the day when Petalstripe's kits would have their ceremony. Swiftstar already had mentors in mind.

Swiftstar considered Starlingflight to teach Furzekit, yet he himself acted like an apprentice, so he was out of the list. Dustnose and Fleetleg only just became warriors, so they probably wouldn't do very well as mentors for now. He thought Mouseheart would be an excellent mentor, however.

Swiftstar nodded inwardly to himself. Although Mouseheart wasn't strong physically, she was mentally strong, with a good education. She was also gentle and compassionate. As for physical skills, she was very quick and a great hunter.

Wingleap could mentored Mosskit, as he was brave, intelligent and polite- if not possibly a little stern with young cats.

Swiftstar just hoped that he chose mentors properly. He softly sighed and got to his feet, shaking his drowsiness away, and giving his short thick fur a hurried grooming. He flicked an ear when he saw Wingleap's head poke into the burrow. The grey-furred deputy peered inside at Swiftstar.

"Sir," began Wingleap. "RoseClan is waiting for you to begin the ceremony."

Swiftstar gave a brief nod in reply to his deputy. "I'll be out in a few seconds, just get them to wait." He mewed. Wingleap huffed at him. "Hurry up, they're growing impatient." He informed Swiftstar, then turned away, leaving.

Swiftstar stared after the grey tom, gave his pelt a couple more hasty licks, then held his head high as he sauntered out of the den. However, his head instantly lowered when he saw the RoseClan cats crowded together within the camp, just outside his den and below the hill where he held meetings.

Swiftstar stood, posture straightening and his head finally lifted again. He gazed lovingly at his niece, Furzekit, and his nephews, Mosskit and Brightkit. The three sat together at the front. Petalstripe and her mate, Tawnyfur, settled behind them.

Clearing his throat, Swiftstar began to announce to the Clan. "RoseClan, we have three kits ready to receive their apprentice ceremony- Furzekit, Mosskit, and Brightkit," He meowed, scanning the crowd for Dawnpool, found her at Softpelt's side, and then continued. "As our current medicine cat, Dawnpool, will not be here forever, I am assigning her to pass on her skills to Brightkit, the youngest kit of Petalstripe and Tawnyfur's litter."

"Brightkit, from this day forward, until you earn your medicine cat name, you will be called by the name Brightpaw." Swiftstar finished and then gazed at Mosskit and Furzekit, purring softly, inaudibly, when Brightpaw let out a happy squeal and bounced over to Dawnpool.

"Furzekit, you will be named Furzepaw. Your mentor will be Mouseheart, who had been mentored by Poppytail, who is no longer with us." Swiftstar announced. He then glanced at Mouseheart. The grey-and-white she-cat seemed to be content with the idea of training the ginger-and-white she-cat. A smile was on her face as Furzepaw trotted over to touch noses with her. Swiftstar just hoped he made a good choice.

Swiftstar then glanced at Wingleap, who sat beside him. He then looked at Mosskit and continued the meeting.

"Mosskit, you will be mentored by Wingleap, the RoseClan deputy, who had been mentored by Larkflight," declared Swiftstar, swishing his long tail. "From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be called Mosspaw."

Cheers broke out from the crowd, and they called the new apprentices' names.

"Mosspaw, Brightpaw, Furzepaw! Mosspaw, Brightpaw, Furzepaw!"

Swiftstar waited for the cats to quiet down, then began to speak again when the cheering subdued.

"For border patrol today, I would like for Berryfur to lead with Spiderjump and Dustnose," Swiftstar uttered. "For the hunting patrol, Mistystream will lead and go toward TalonClan's border with Starlingflight, Fleetleg and Antshade, as that is were prey is the most common."

"Meeting dismissed." He concluded, stepping down from the hill. The crowd disbanded and returned to their duties.

Swiftstar got ready to enter his den and go back to sleep, when a paw delicately prodded his shoulder. "Swiftstar?"

Swiftstar turned around to see Mouseheart standing there. "Yes, Mouseheart?"

The grey-and-white she-cat blinked joyfully. "Can I speak with you?" She asked, hopefulness edging her tone.

Swiftstar nodded and flicked his tailtip, ordering Mouseheart to follow him into his dwelling. Her green eyes brightened as she dipped her head to the ginger-and-white tom, and then she trailed after him and into the burrow where he lived with him. Once inside, Swiftstar approached his moss nest and settled down in it. He stared at Mouseheart and waited for her to speak. When the petite warrior settled, she began with another question.

"Are you sure that you want me to mentor Furzepaw?" Mouseheart asked.

Swiftstar nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. Why do you ask?" He tried not to narrow his eyes. Would he have to change Furzepaw's mentor? Mouseheart was a good warrior, why wouldn't she want an apprentice?

"I guess I'm not that experienced. That's why," Mouseheart told him. "I'm not very strong, and I only been a warrior for a few moons."

Swiftstar blinked. "I only been a leader for two moons. Even before, I was very inexperienced- I mean, I still am," He muttered lowly, feeling somewhat embarrassed, yet he didn't know why. "I hate speaking in public and... Mouseheart, you had to wait three more moons than your brother to become a warrior. You're also very intelligent." He replied.

"Remember when you were ten moons old? You led a dog away from the territory without fighting." Swiftstar quickly added.

Mouseheart was noiseless for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I'm kind of smart." She responded in a hushed tone of voice.

Swiftstar swallowed hard. "Not 'kind of', Mouseheart," He huffed. "I... Perhaps we could hunt together later and talk over it. Would that be okay with you?"

Mouseheart nodded. "That would be great, sir." She answered, and instantly, Swiftstar paused.

"Mouseheart, I, you don't have to call me sir, please. I'm still Swiftstrike, right? Just call me Swiftstar, please, or even by that weird nickname you gave me."

Mouseheart breathed. "Swifty."

Swiftstar continued to stare at her, pelt growing hot at the nickname. He thought it was cute, but kind of dumb. "I guess we could go at sunset? Also, uh, can you go with Wingleap to show Furzepaw and Mosspaw around the territory?" He asked.

"Yes, sure," Mouseheart murmured, a purr lacing her tone now. She got to her small paws and glanced at Swiftstar, before turning around, preparing to leave. "I'll see you later. Bye."

"Goodbye!" Swiftstar calld after Mouseheart, as she departed from his den. He rumbled quietly as he watched her go.

When Mouseheart left, Swiftstar smiled mentally to himself. He got up, then started to knead his soft nest. Then, he plopped down in the bedding with a rather loud grunt.

It wasn't very long until he drifted out of conciousness and into sleep.


	16. Chapter 15

**Thank you everyone for sticking with the story this far!**

**It means a lot to me! ovo**

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Swiftstar carried the limp, bloody vole to Mouseheart. It was evening, and the amber-colored sky was growing dull and dark. He approached his clanmate, who in her jaws, held a skinny squirrel. Swiftstar set his piece of prey down, seated next to her and gazed at Mouseheart.

"So, uh," Swiftstar began to converse awkwardly with Mouseheart. "Do you want to talk now?" He then asked, and Mouseheart nodded.

"Yeah, uh... Swiftstar, thank you for giving me Furzepaw as an apprentice. I'll train her as best as I can. She really curious." Mouseheart replied. She dabbed at her dead squirrel. Swiftstar dipped his head to the smaller cat. At least he didn't have to switch mentors for Furzepaw.

Mouseheart smiled politely at Swiftstar. She grabbed the fluffy, yet scrawy squirrel she put down seconds ago. She spoke to him, voice muffled a bit by the motionless piece of freshkill.

"Want to go back to camp? The sunset patrol must have returned, and you need the report from Wingleap."

Swiftstar purred at his friend. "Yeah, let's go." He murmured, beckoning Mouseheart with a small nod. He picked up his vole again and began to amble toward RoseClan's camp.

Mouseheart piped up curiously from behind. "The Gathering is in a couple of days," She told him. "Who are you going to take?"

Swiftstar glanced at Mouseheart again. "Wingleap, Dawnpool, you, Fleetleg, Spiderjump and Tawnyfur. I might take the apprentices and Larkflight too." answered the ginger-and-white tom. Mouseheart didn't reply, but just reached Swiftstar's dide and nodded at him.

When they went through the entrance to the camp, Swiftstar immeadiately paused. A new scent filled the camp. He felt familiar with the smell, but it didn't belong to a cat he had met before. His yellow eyes narrowed when he spotted the stranger- a very plump and fluffy tomcat with a black-and-white collar. He was in a staggering position, and breathing heavily, sitting between Starlingflight and Tawnyfur.

The metallic tang of blood hit Swiftstar as he could only stare as the kittypet quivered violently.

A whimper emitted from Starlingflight. "Sorry for hurting you," He said, then his voice was a bit more cheerful. "Dawnpool will help you, don't worry!" He chirped, then, he flinched when he noticed Swiftstar standing at the camp's entrance with a somewhat confused and startled Mouseheart.

"He's here." Tawnyfur huffed. His brilliant green eyes flashed to Swiftstar. He then signaled his leader over with a flick of his tail.

Swiftstar looked at Mouseheart quickly again. He felt a strange shiver go down his spine, before he turned away from her. "I'll see you in a few moments. Later." He uttered, then left her side. He put his vole in the heap of freshkill, and then walked over to Tawnyfur, Starlingflight and the stranger.

"Hello, you two," Swiftstar greeted Tawnyfur and Starlingflight, while cautiously watching the grey, amber-eyed tomcat. "Who's this?" He inquired. Was the stranger a threat? Swiftstar inhaled anxiously at the thought of a kittypet being dangerous to the Clan. Then, he chuckled internally.

There was no way a housecat could harm the Clan.

Starlingflight answered. "His name is Asher, he's from the twolegplace. He wants to talk to you, I think," Then, the fluffy warrior gazed at Asher with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I gave him a really big nick in his right ear!" He squeaked.

The kittypet seemed to cringe, and Swiftstar felt a flash of sympathy for the plump tom. Even though Starlingflight was small and skinny, his claws were noticeably very sharp.

The perky cutes ones are the ones you never suspect, dear reader.

Swiftstar studied Asher. A few scratches on his face were covered in strands of cobwebs. His ear trickled with blood and had a huge tear in it. Asher looked at Swiftstar, eyes wide and gleaming with astonishment.

"You're him..." Asher whispered, disbelief hinted in his tone. "F-Finally, I can tell Beep that I'm not crazy, and Shelly can leave me alone." He said suddenly, and instantly, Swiftstar was very bewildered.

"Excuse me?" Swiftstar huffed.

Starlingflight chimed in. "I might have accidentally hit him really hard!" He meowed.

Swiftstar grunted at Starlingflight, then, he felt something inside him catch on fire. Something bothered him about Asher. He gazed at the grey, dark-dappled tomcat who just sat there with shiny amber eyes. Dawnpool poked her head out of the medicine cat den again to look at Asher and then Swiftstar.

"Do you two need herbs?" questioned Dawnpool, her pale blue eyes brightening. Swiftstar just shook his head at the medicine cat, and only gazed at Asher more. He coughed softly.

Shelly. Shelly knew this tomcat, Asher, and so did Swiftstar. They both knew the black-and-white kittypet that roamed the leader's dreams every other night. Yellow eyes shimmering, Swiftstar then felt something else. Something that he identified as _happiness._

It was the happiness a cat would get when they met a friend that they have not seen in so long. It almost irked Swiftstar that he felt this joy. He apprehensively stared more at Asher, eyes wide, before whispering, "excuse me", and then flicked his tail for the kittypet to come with him into his den.

"I'll see everyone later." Swiftstar meowed, while whispers of confusion throughout the camp followed him.

"What's a kittypet doing here?"

Those few words were what troubled Swiftstar the most. There was the word he felt somehow connected with. _Kittypet._


End file.
